Orme was the fifth in a sire line, beginning with Stockwell, of highly influential stallions and top racehorses. Through his son, English Triple Crown winner Flying Fox, he is seen in modern pedigrees through the great broodmare La Troienne, as well as through Teddy, and all his important progeny.

Orme was bred by Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, the first Duke of Westminster, at Eaton Stud, near the historic city of Chester. He was a member of the first crop of Ormonde, the Duke's unbeaten Triple Crown champion and son of the Duke's beloved Derby champion, Bend Or. Orme was the fifth foal of Angelica, an unraced full sister to St. Simon by Galopin, who had been bred by Prince Bathyany. Sold at auction as a yearling, she was purchased for 50 guineas by Taylor Sharpe, for whom she bred two fillies -- Dingle (1883, by Glendale) and Mezzotint (1884 by Coeruleus -- both of whom later were good producers. Angelica was resold in 1886, age seven, to Grosvenor, carrying the foal Blue Green, by Coeruleus, who later won the Criterion Stakes and the Queen Alexandra Stakes. Bred to Bend Or the next season, she produced the brown colt, Order, and the next year she dropped a strong, handsome bay colt, Orme, at Moulton Paddocks, Newmarket, where Ormonde, who had been leased to Lord Gerard, was standing.

Orme on the Turf

With such a pedigree, much was expected of Orme, and he was carefully brought along by trainer John Porter. Porter first ran him in a trial on Kingsclere Downs in July of Orme's two year old year, where Porter determined he was about a length behind his contemporary, the filly La Fleche, who the following week won the Chesterfield Stakes at Newmarket. Orme made his debut at the end of July, in the important Richmond Stakes at Goodwood, which he won. Orme proceded to win four of his next five starts, including the Middle Park Plate and the Dewhurst Plate. His only loss was by half a length to the older filly Signorina in the Lancashire Plate at Manchester. His total earnings at the end of his first season were £8,174.

Orme was considered a certainty for the 1892 classics, but the colt fell ill just days before the Two Thousand Guineas, when Porter noticed the colt had saliva dripping from his mouth. Initially diagnosed as an abcessed tooth, which was extracted, Orme continued to worsen, eventually unable to swallow, and a second veterinarian was consulted, who concluded the horse had been poisoned, probably with mercury. Dedicated nursing and a strong constitution enabled him to recover, and three months after his symptoms first appeared, he ran in and won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, where he beat the Bend Or colt Orvieto by a neck. This was followed by a win in Goodwood's Sussex Stakes, where he beat his stablemate, Watercress (later sold to American J.B. Haggin and shipped to California to become a sire at his Rancho del Paso). In his last chance for a classic win, the St. Leger, his jockey sent him to the front at the start, and he ran out of gas about two furlongs from home; the race was won by La Fleche, with Orme unplaced. He went on to win four successive races at Newmarket: the Great Foal Stakes (1-1/4 miles), the Champion Stakes (1-1/4 miles), the Limekiln Stakes (1 mile), and the Subscription Stakes (6 furlongs). He ran second in his final race that season, the Free Handicap Sweepstakes at Newmarket over 1-1/4 miles.

As a four-year-old, Orme captured Ascot's Rous Memorial Stakes (1 mile), Sandown's Eclipse Stakes (1-1/4 mile) and the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood (1-1/4 mile), defeating multiple classic-winning filly La Fleche in the latter two. In his final race, the Limekiln Stakes at Newmarket, one of his suspensory ligaments gave way, terminating his career. Porter later said that, good as Orme was at ages two and three, "he was better still as a four year old," but even when at his best, he was "from 7 lb. to 10 lb. behind his sire, Ormonde." His metier was a mile to a mile and a quarter.

Orme in the Stud

Orme was retired to Eaton, where he sired three classic winners--FLYING FOX, ORBY, and WITCH ELM. Orme led the sire list in 1899, the year Flying Fox swept the Triple Crown, and was fourth in the list in 1907, the year of Orby's and Witch Elm's classic wins. While he got winners every year at stud except his first, 1897, most of his offspring, with the exception of his classic winners, were not particularly successful. In all, over 18 seasons he sired winners of 242 races worth £122,568.

Flying Fox won the English Triple Crown

Orby

Missel Thrush--his grandson Jackdaw was a great sire of jumpers

FLYING FOX was an outstanding juvenile, and at age three won England's Triple Crown races. When the Duke died, he was put up for auction and purchased by French breeder and sportsman, Edmund Blanc, who paid the equivalent of $190,000 for him. In France, Flying Fox was an influential stallion, sire of French Derby winner and important sire Ajax, of several other classic winners in France, and of Teddy, who became a powerful influence at stud in the United States and continued the sire line through sons Sir Gallahad III and Bull Dog.

ORBY captured the 1907 Epsom Derby and its Irish counterpart. Orby was campaigned by American Richard Croker and retired to Croker's stud in Ireland. He was usually among the leading sires in Britain, second in 1919, the year his son Grand Parade won the Epsom Derby, and third in 1917. Orby became a significant influence for speed in pedigrees. His daughter, the crack filly Diadem, was a winner of the One Thousand Guineas and twice the July Cup; another daughter, Flying Orb, captured the Queen Mary Stakes and Imperial Produce Stakes and was second in the One Thousand Guineas. Orby's son The Boss was speedy, and sired Sir Cosmo, one of the best sprinters of his day and himself sire of Bellacoss, dual winner of the July Cup; Golden Boss, winner of the King's Stand Stakes; and Knight's Daughter, dam of Round Table. The great steeplechaser Red Rum descended in tail-male from Orby, via Golden Boss.

The third classic champion sired by Orme was the filly WITCH ELM, victress in the Cheveley Park Stakes at two and One Thousand Guineas at three. Some of her distant progeny in tail-female descent became classic winners in Brazil.

Of Orme's other sons, the most successful were HARROW, who won seven modest races and £6,312; ORCHID, who won the Great Yorkshire Handicap and eight other races and a total of £5,459; VAMOSE, a good juvenile who dead-heated with Lesbia in the Imperial Produce Stakes in 1907, and utlimately won four races worth £5,604; AMEER, winner of six races, and DUKE OF WESTMINSTER, who won Ascot's New Stakes and the Richmond Stakes at age two, and later the Rous Memorial Stakes.

MISSEL THRUSH, an indifferent racehorse, sired Thrush, who won Newmarket's July Cup and later was a good sire of broodmares. Thrush also got Jackdaw, who became a top sire of jumpers: Jackdaw's sons included the great stayer Brown Jack, who won the Doncaster Cup; two Grand National Steeplechase winners, Grakle and Kellsboro Jack, and Jackdaw of Rheims, who sired two winners of the Irish Grand National Steeplechase and many other winners over fences.

BIRKENHEAD, a half brother to St. Leger winner Wildfowler, won one race, a sprint handicap at Kempton Park in 1900. In 1901 he was sold to New Zealand, where he became a successful sire.

THE WAG (1900), bred at Sledmere, started unsuccessfully three times at age two, and in his next race, at Gatwick, bolted off course, jumping "many big fences" during his romp. Retired to stud in Ireland, his best was Kilbroney, who won well in Ireland and in England won the 2 -1/4 mile Great Metropolitan Stakes and the Goodwood Cup.

As a broodmare sire, Orme was fourth in the lists in 1912, and sixth in 1913. Exceptional runners out of Orme mares included St. Leger and Eclipse Stakes winner Tracery (from TOPIARY) and once-defeated American champion Sysonby (from OPTIME).

Topiary with a Rock Sand filly at foot

TOPIARY was bred at the Sykes Sledmere stud, and sold for 3,000 guineas as a yearling. She was purchased by August Belmont in 1906, and sent to the U.S., where she dropped her St. Leger-winning son TRACERY (by Rock Sand). Tracery was later among the leading sires four times, and his brother, TRAP ROCK, also had some success at stud. OPTIME, sent to the U.S., was in the Montana stud of Marcus Daly; after his death she was purchased by James R. Keene in foal to Melton. Her foal from that breeding was SYSONBY, the fast and powerful "horse of the century" in the U.S.

The half siblings Ossia and Ostrea, were out of Orme's daughter OSELLA, which had been exported to Germany. The former captured the Grosser Preis von Baden and Deutsches St. Leger, while the latter captured the Preis der Diana.

In 1899, upon the death of the first Duke of Westminster, the majority of his bloodstock was sold at public auction, including Orme's son Flying Fox, who went to French breeder Edmund Blanc for 37,500 guineas, at the time the highest price ever paid for a horse at public auction. Orme was one of the horses chosen to remain at Eaton, under the ownership of the old Duke's grandson, the second Duke of Westminster. The others included 23-year-old Bend Or, Ornament (the dam of Sceptre), and Vampire, the dam of Flying Fox.

Orme was pensioned from stud duty in 1912. In his old age, his teeth became very bad and he lost condition. He was put down on September 17, 1915 at the age of 26 and buried in the Eaton yard near the graves of his dam Angelica and grandsire Bend Or.